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VANCOUVER—Indigenous peoples should be included in the design, development and delivery of any plans to combat climate change because they are among the first to feel its effects, says the head of the Assembly of First Nations.

“We’ve always maintained we have rights as indigenous peoples, but we also have responsibilities to protect the land and water,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde.

The Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council were invited to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday ahead of the First Ministers Meeting in Vancouver.

Bellegarde said in addition to feeling the immediate effects of global warming — such as losing access to goods and services when it is not cold enough to open an ice road — indigenous communities are also looking to build green infrastructure as a way to have more energy security.

“We still have communities that are run by diesel generators,” Bellegarde said.

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Meanwhile, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and the Native Women’s Association of Canada were not invited to the meeting and are pushing to be included.

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